Make Your Own Shortwave Speaker Wire Antenna!

[@M81_WOODLAND]

Thanks for sparing all of us the college level dissertation on the science of radio waves and antenna technology and just... ... getting down to the nuts and bolts with some easy to understand terminology. Too many radio guys just want to gatekeep with unnecessary nerd-ology.

[@omaral-amoudi2295]

What you did is excellent, and it can be made even better by connecting one end to the ground or a ground - omar from yemen

[@eatthellama9140]

Just built mine and am inside an apartment made of rebar and stucco with crazy amounts of interference. This is incredible the difference it made! Thanks for the advice and good instructions on the build

[@eatthellama9140]

Just to let anyone know the total cost for me was 18$. 25ft speaker wire, electrical tape, two packs of 4 alligator clips(I bought extra)

[@andie_pants]

I never thought about this from a preparation standpoint. Makes sense.

[@rickjohnson6818]

Great info. Subscribed. As an experiment, use a single light gauge wire hooked to a helium filled balloon. Depending on the size of the balloon and size of the wire, it is easy to imagine extending an antenna a couple hundred feet in the air. Just don't do it anywhere near an airstrip.

[@raccoonlittlebear6476]

It's probably a good idea to get a small portable short wave radio, extra battery & small solar recharging unit & store them in a faraday cage. (convert a metal ammo can). Just in case.

[@CaptainBuzzcooler]

Great info. I just recently dug my shortwave out of storage and this video shows up on my notifications. Thanks. 😀

[@newfoundnugz5900]

That's probably AI listening in your phone.. Happens to me alot

[@louismartinet882]

Just assembled an antenna for my Grundig and it is amazing. Cost me about $15. Thanks so Much.

[@toml.8210]

That fax stuff, weather maps, and even TV images are generated by feeding the audio from the headphone jack into your computer's microphone jack(or audio in on tablets) and converting the sounds using special free software.

[@ianmorton5943]

Iv done this and I think it's a nice way to start a hobby in shortwave as ppl buy radios and think thers nothing to listen to but this antenna will bring the signal in 100% grate vidio from uk

[@toml.8210]

Plastic zip-ties also work as insulators on the ends, as well as strain-reliefs and a way to keep the bundle of wires/paracord together. tape will eventually degrade from exposure and fall apart.

[@frankieroger8877]

yes that is exactly what i use, zip ties.

[@ashfordramrattan3467]

Excellent teaching methods. Fully understood. Thanks.going to make one.

[@scott762mm]

Cool! I just ordered a short wave radio. Thanks to amazon prime I'll have it Saturday morning 🤓

[@jimberanis]

TY great demonstration and presentation

[@MrWmburr7]

Hey, great (and simple) project! Thank you, my friend.

[@patrickwall8517]

The best tip of all is to use speaker wire or lamp cord, because you measure and cut it once and you have two equal sides.

[@mikecampbell5856]

I remember listening to shortwave on 9/11 and the German language broadcast was kinda terrifying, and I don' know a word of German. I listened on my grandparents 1936 Silvertone that I used to play with in the early 60s and inherited in 1981. My grandparents lived in a valley right below a hill and it would pick up shortwave with a 4 foot piece of lamp cord hanging in the back.

[@earlspencer7863]

Lol the Nazis are coming! Seriously you should try learning some German. A good channel is "Easy German" to start with.

[@vincentkosik403]

How do you say bra in German? Easy...Stopthemfromfloppin

[@daleval2182]

I have a clothes line off front deck, i cloths pin one end of dipole, run the other opoosite side deck to a second pole, will have 40 feet, each way, 80 ft total, but one clipped on line can be moved closer or futher my spinning the line reel, kind of a second outdoor adjustment, thanks for the idea, and another job i gotta get done today lol 💪🏡👍

[@richardparker3150]

I hope enough people watch this video, your help on this is real good. I used to talk on 11meters . I learned about dipole antennas about 40years ago.

[@attheendoftheday8969]

Great video right here. Thanks for the info, I will make this for work tomorrow as we can't get signal in the machine shop right now. You're the man!

[@mikecampbell5856]

I have an FM jack on the back of my Grundig. I think I will use that. Great video!

[@gabrielv.4358]

Vídeo muito show! Eu sempre gostei de rádio, e agora pude adquirir um radio, embora bem barato, deve ser um bom início ao DXismo. Muito bom saber como fazer uma antena para escutar SW. Nice video! I always liked radios, and now I bought a radio, although its cheap, it should be a good start for DXing. Nice to know how to make an efficient antenna for SW listening I put the radio antenna to the TV antenna I have outside, and it made all the difference, but ofcourse I cant take the antenna with me on trips lol

[@toml.8210]

He's got LARGE "ring terminals" on the ends. You can hook those to something, or tie some twine or paracord to the rings to hang the antenna up high, and to electrically insulate or support the wire. He did mention it's important to electrically insulate the antenna wire from metal things that are already grounded.

[@TheFrog767]

Excellent saves me having to hold the antenna for a clear signal.

[@fireballtp]

I have a couple thrift-store-find radios a Grundig Satellit 800 and a Heathkit SW 7800. Terrible reception in this apartment. But now I’m eyeing a roll of thrift store speaker wire for an antenna.

[@DennisSantos]

If I use a 3.5mm Jack instead of the alligator clip, do both halves of the dipole solder to the center pin or one to the center and the other to the collar?

[@craigbetts1586]

excellent how to video simple and very low cost for an antenna

[@toml.8210]

I have seen some people tie the dipole crosswires to the paracord for support, like a clothesline- so it doesn't break from a falling stick or the wind.

[@Burps___]

What a clear-speaking and demonstrating video. I’m gonna do it! I have the Sangean 909x, too. I like the alligator clip idea, even for that radio.

[@Iridium242]

Thanks for watching!

[@rickcamren5423]

Good video...I'm currently running a longwire but it is only five foot off the ground running in an "L" shape along my wooden fence. I'm going to try and get it up in a tree and see how much it improves. I do get pretty decent reception at the moment..I have gotten as far as RNZ down here in Alabama but the condidtions have to be right.

[@jamesgrosrenaudjr812]

That’s awesome I’ll probably make a few for my room and my camping gear , backyard radio. I have a clothes hanger attached to the fm antenna that came with my stereo which I broke so I had to fix the end of the antenna and the cloths hang works better then the tip it had . Tried to hook my little sw radio to it but I think the wire I’m using is wrong .cut the end off red and white stereo wires but it seem to have made things worse .

[@cookingforfools8691]

I did something similar to this years ago with my Radio Shack Shortwave radio. It opened a whole new world or odd radio shows. With cancel culture cracking down on the internet, I think this would be a great way to get alternative radio.

[@duenge]

Make a chain link fence an antenna. My late ham friend would clamp on to a chain link fence, and talk around the world....An aluminum chaise lounge chair worked CW at 5 watts to Europe....

[@bravopapas4386]

I can not wait to make it , awsome

[@moniquelegarda1842]

Great little project while stuck in lockdown.

[@Sch00lbu5]

This is a good bug-out or vacation antenna solution. I'd like my home antenna to be longer and I'll also make this type of a more portable antenna. But One thing I never see in KZbin vids is, for my home installation, how do I get the wire into the house? Stucco house, expensive windows.

[@usernamemykel]

Same way as your cable for TV enters the house - make a hole!

[@AKayfabe]

This is very cool if only I understood the first thing abt wiring, radio or electronics. I always wanted to have one of these

[@Iridium242]

If you want to learn just ask I can help you figure it out

[@user-qo7cs1ru1e]

Thank you very much for your info greetings fron Toluca Mexico

[@sandplasma]

building mine now, thanks for the video!

[@bertram_oredrock]

Excellent instructional video. I will purchase some speaker wire tomorrow and make an antenna like yours. Thanks I242. I learn immensely from your channel.

[@K-Kil]

I ordered one of those retekes units and it gets here tomorrow. I have tons of scrap wire that I can get ready for when it shows up. I can't wait to see what SW has to offer.

[@Callatis]

How's the SW reception with Retekess V-115? Do you recommend it for SW?

[@K-Kil]

@@Callatis Using scrap wire I was able to pick up radio Havana from North Texas

[@krisraps]

I Have The Same Setup At My Addic In My House In Third Floor, Picks Up American Signals From Where I Am At Night, Im Located In Latvia. I get Indian Channels And Ohh, Whole World Almost :) And The Second Big Antenna Project That I Made Was And IS Fishing Poile ANtenna, Around `7 Meters In Sky,, Its A Dipole ANtenna, Works So good For 170.000 Mhz And Around There, I Tuned It For That Frequencie, Its Just Two telescopic ANtennas made Together With A Radio Gap between Them And Then Its Out I Believe It Was 19.9 Cm Or SOmething On Both Sides And Jeap, It Catches A Lot Of These Upper Frequencies, But Total I Have Like 40 Antennas In My Property. :)

[@Knife_Collector]

I have recently gotten back into shortwave radios, and the older stations I use to listen to I do not think exists anymore. But my question is, do you know of, or can find out frequencies that would be of importance in a dire emergency? I have found internet pages with emergency broadcast frequencies from government and local civilian groups dealing with emergencies, but wondering about frequencies from places that would be giving real time broadcasts of things we would not hear from government sources on things they might not be wanting us to know, like riots, outbreaks of zombies, martial law etc. Or would this be a wait till it happens and search for such frequencies that might pop up?

[@tiroler]

Excelente! Muchas gracias. Thank you very much. I can't wait to make this antenna.

[@joelrochow1]

If you live in a VA condo with its concrete and rebar construction, just forget shortwave listening until you are back in a rental unit, 300 fett from any RFI.

[@workermannamrekrow2768]

Super idea. Thanks for the great video.

[@SriRam-yq4id]

Excellent Video and appreciate your effort in sharing with everyone.

[@UrbenJipsy]

Thats it man, exactly what i was lookin 4

[@billb1788]

I'm going to make this 👌. I was thinking tho instead of making a hole separate dipole if you wanted it longer could you just add whatever length you like to each side? So use the 25ft as the "base" with the option for added length. 🤔 maybe quick connects or a wing nut and bolt since you already have the "eye holes" at either end.

[@pvillez]

Thank you very much, I learned a lot from your video!

[@WityWot]

Does this set up need to be grounded? Thanks

[@Crusty_Camper]

A very useful video, thanks. I have a question about the orientation of the antenna. Does it have to be more or less in a straight line, or would it still be as effective if the two arms were set at 90 degrees to each other? My ideal location is at a corner of my property where a 90 degree set up would be best, if it would work.

[@Iridium242]

As long as you get it up in the air it works 90 degree would not matter at all.

[@stephenwilliams5201]

You are cooking with gas my man. I went to radio shack. Baught a sack of gator clips. Then cut several. Wires about 3 to 5 meters each. So now with just a few meters of hook up wire is a big boost, and can be rolled up and put in Cary bag. Kv4li.

[@briantaylor4148]

As a novice I have tried unsuccessfully in the past with a plain horizontal wire with no joy at all. This looked a good way of doing well.So I thought I would try this dipole method. I set it up outside exactly as per your instructions, but here again it made no difference. I live near the bottom of a hill in a bungalow using the soffit as a fixing points. What can I do to improve my signals please? Thanks, Brian Taylor

[@nervousstranger]

Short wave is kinda hot or miss. Depending on where you live or the time of year you might not get a lot of signals.

[@PraxisPrepper]

Thanks for this video. I tried building a really large antenna for my shortwave using a technique that uses coaxial wire. I had a VERY successful experience building an FM antenna that way, but my much larger (50 foot across) version that I plugged into my shortwave radio seems useless. I think I'm doing something wrong. I didn't use your technique here, but rather that same build style that I used to make my FM antenna. Is that idiotic? I don't really know anything about radio (that's likely obvious to anyone who DOES by what I'm writing here). I'd love any advice or guidance you might be able to share. I have a coaxial jack into my SW receiver. Would love to be able to utilize that. Thanks in advance for any help! PS - When I saw that YOU had made a video on this topic, I figured it'd be a great place to go. I'd been involved in the 30 Days of Preparedness last year with you. I think your episode followed my own.

[@Iridium242]

Thanks yeah I remember that. Best bet would be to look up a G5RV antenna, you can connect your coax to 75 ohm ladder line, then a balun, and then about 51 feet of wire on each side, Should give you an amazingly wide receive coverage as well as transmit should you ever need it

[@PraxisPrepper]

@@Iridium242 Thanks so much for the tip! I'll check it out.

[@BetaboyBuffet]

deffo trying this out, thanks

[@artenmatosian4062]

Do you get better shortwave '' reception.'' if you hang your wire ends facing and north or south or east and west. Or does it matter ?????

[@Iridium242]

For just general reception, the orientation does not matter, it should do fine however you can put it up.

[@artenmatosian4062]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH ''STAY SAFE''@@Iridium242

[@alxhsa]

I can't wait to try this! Thanks so much for sharing. I do have a question: does the length of the wire matter? I bought a 50' reel of speaker wire and I did exactly what you recommended on the two horizontal wires but for the other end where it connects to the radio's antenna, I have 35' instead of the 10' you recommend.

[@Iridium242]

The longer and higher you go with this the better, that is what I have found

[@alxhsa]

@@Iridium242 awesome! Thanks! I clipped each of the horizontal wires on 10' PVC pipes and right away I noticed a HUGE difference in reception! Thank you so much. I ended up returning the XHDATA AN-80 Shortwave Reel Antenna ($13) which was ok but not great and the wire in it kept getting stuck and would not wind it back very easily.

[@MagicRoosterBluesBand]

I've been told 50 feet of wire is the limit for these little portable SW radios, as they will overload the radio. Been trying to find more info on longer wires and grounding for these portables but with little success. So far this is the best video on the subject.

[@toml.8210]

@@MagicRoosterBluesBand They must be referring to antennas on transmitters, not receivers.

[@enriquediaz7547]

Question: the two leads/wires connected to the alligator clip: are they simply exposed & then “shorted” together?

[@bobjones9727]

Great video. I will build one.

[@johnr625]

Great video, well explained and easily understood many thanks. Some good ideas in there! I like the ring crimp insulators and one of the comments suggests using cable ties to hook on to whatever. A question for you please. I hear it's very important to have a good ground. How would you build that into an antenna like this?

[@georgedakil3506]

Why a good ground. Will it improve performance, or just a safety feature for lightning?

[@Fimpiekijke]

Great explained, what is the effect if you touch the trees, i thought it is needed to not touch anything and hang the antenna freely with isolator or plastic tie to the trees.

[@ernestperez6812]

The speaker wire is already insulated except for the ends.

[@OL-Tom]

Coolness, Any recommendations on a quality radio (solar power) living in Northern NV we get lots of sun

[@MrDoubleBrutalT800]

Can I hook the end up with a male BNC connector? Then I could use the antenna input of the ats909x with an bnc to 3,5mm adapter

[@duncan3417]

Hi, great video. I do basically do the same with lamp wire. I split it as well. I loop my wire around two pencils that can go in different directions. This still doe's not work well for me. I don't know if it is the loops or if the wire is to long or just the surroundings. This just gives me lots of static. I have to use it inside my apt. I live on the 1st floor and have a 6 story building about 100 ft from my windows. Also there are lots of power lines. Is there any hope? I get better reception with the built in antennas, but not good. Thanks!

[@jeepdog]

you are getting electromagnetic interference from your environment

[@ut4646]

excellent video

[@Iridium242]

Thank you very much!

[@aureliusprimus]

Very fine !! I have a question about the wire.. Does the diameter of the wire can be important for a better reception ?

[@patrickwall8517]

No the diameter will have no effect on reception. What metal the wire is made of makes a difference. Copper wire will have better reception than steel or aluminum because copper is better conductor.

[@usernamemykel]

I'd be able to put a dipole up, outside my house, but the maximum length of each leg would be 12'. What band should I expect to receive? Thank you!

[@luismedina8502]

Nice work, thank you!

[@davidzimmer2694]

Thank you. Well done..

[@ricbrady]

Great information, as always!! Quick question, what is the name of the larger radio that you showed in the video that picks up Ham radio? Is that your "go to" shortwave? Which do you like the best?

[@Iridium242]

I did a review on it 2 years ago its a great radio, Its a Sangean ATS 909X. Its a bit big to carry while bugging out but its a great radio. For serious shortwave monitoring I would just use my HF rig, a yeasu FT-450D but this one is pretty amazing Here is the review I did on the radio kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnSVY3yjlL6KaLM

[@mark58761]

I enjoyed your video. I'm new to shortwave. I bought a nice radio but need an antenna. I can support about 100' of speaker wire on old clothes lines on my property. My question is, does it matter how long the lead wire is from the antenna? I'd want to run the lead wire from the antenna to my house.

[@Iridium242]

Not really when it comes to shortwave monitoring the more wire the better.

[@357bullfrog9]

If you go strait up 20ft then split and go 10ft in either direction would it be like having a 40 ft antenna?

[@goreswoodworking7417]

I just made one. How out 18ga speaker wire. It made a world of difference for my short wave especially above 7mhz. Thanks for the video. I’m using a worldstar solid state multiband receiver from I think the mid 70s. This is my fist short wave but looking at getting a newer version. What is your option on the new radios? And certain brand?

[@toml.8210]

18 Ga wire should be fine. Some experts suggest thinner wire to filter out some noise from house wiring or local RFI. The Tecsun receivers are popular lately. I use a retekess AM/FM/SW and a Kaito KA600

[@DG-kq8zf]

Check out todderbert. He reviews as many radios as you'll ever want to know about. He kinda takes the place of two hands and a radio. Sad to see him give it up. Anyway... Todderbert

[@84lepetitmort]

Quick question: What are those round washer-like "endpieces" called that you strung paracord through to be able to hang up your antenna?

[@sugizotakuro]

it is ring connectors for wire. come in various sizes.

[@slamdunk58]

Sorry to sound completely stupid.... but what are Ring connectors for wire? Thanks

[@shawnlauderdale6502]

Great information! Thanks!

[@tysontyson1244]

Thank you!

[@TwistedMetalsOfTexas]

Does having the extra length of antenna put any extra strain on the battery life of the short wave? Otherwise love it gonna try it out! Hope all is well and have a wonderful day

[@Iridium242]

Nope none at all, does not effect battery life.

[@TwistedMetalsOfTexas]

Awesome thanks for the info!

[@nerdbit84]

Nice , great vid. So it's more of a portable antenna if you go camping or something on the go, since no ground?

[@Iridium242]

Yes, exactly

[@joesmith4222]

If you don't have a ground port on your radio you can twist a wire around the battery spring and attach to the uffer ground rod below your outside electric meter for twice the reception in addition to the antenna. Or a big nail and get the ground wet.

[@kevinmalone5430]

Would 14 gauge speaker wire be too big, and I just want to stick to 18 gauge? Do I want to strip the plastic from the wire to attach to the ring connectors, or just to the alligator clip?

[@AgentWonderbread45]

i've read that the gauge of wire doesn't really matter, 18 should work fine.

[@dav8194]

Stripping it won't matter

[@ferebeefamily]

Thank you.

[@slamdunk58]

I can't see what it is you've used to hang the two ends of the di pole to the tree from?

[@Iridium242]

In the video I think (I hope lol) I showed that I used some paracord to hang the ends, that just went over a branch of the tree

[@bennettsmith854]

Good Stuff! Do I need to ground the radio or antenna in some way or fashion?

[@Iridium242]

Not with this, its mainly for reception. Now I would not be putting it outside during a thunderstorm but for just listening in, no worries.

[@bennettsmith854]

@@Iridium242 Excellent! Thank you.

[@jeepinjohnny2898]

hey - interesting. HOWEVER did you just twist the 2 wires together then screw to the alligator clip ?

[@Iridium242]

Yes, forgot to mention that, I stripped both sides, twisted them together and then soldered them in the clip itself. It would have worked had I not soldered it, just did that to make it a bit more sturdy. I did also clamp down the end of the clip on the soldered wires just for extra strength

[@michaelkhf]

Newbie question: if I don't have alligator clips, can I wrap the speaker wire around the antenna on my radio instead?

[@Iridium242]

Heck yeah, years ago I just taped the wire on the antenna with duct tape, it worked, wasn't pretty but worked.

[@michaelkhf]

@@Iridium242 thanks for fast reply. I have insulated speaker wire. Do I need to strip the insulation and wrap bare wire around the antenna?

[@Iridium242]

@@michaelkhf Yeah it helps, it might work somewhat without stripping it but I always stripped it off and taped it on, this was years ago and it worked pretty well just tossing the wire out a window on the 20th floor of a NYC apartment building

[@michaelkhf]

@@Iridium242 I will try it. I have a Bingfu 20-1300MHz Police Scanner Antenna Radio I will attach the speaker wire to. I don't know if I will be able to receive frequencies below 20MHz even with the speaker wire

[@survivalltsurvivallt2795]

Nice video good job 👍 👍

[@pennyc7064]

Any alternative to improve reception for people living in the city?

[@Iridium242]

you can hang this antenna up along the roofline of your inside room and it will work very well also, it does not need to be outside

[@pennyc7064]

@@Iridium242 thank you for your reply.

[@alexchin2286]

Love your video. Will build one soon. Instead of 15 feet on either side of the dipole would reception be affected if I build one with 30 feet on either side?

[@Iridium242]

The longer the better, also the higher the better. Its only for reception so no worries

[@alexchin2286]

Thanks

[@CornerTalker]

Would a fence make a good antenna? Anyone try it? chain-link? barbed wire?

[@ThePNWRiderWA]

Shortwave is a must. It is often neglected and the way you extended the range is easy. Would this work in things like the Baofeng units to increase reception ?

[@Iridium242]

Reception yes, but unless you cut it for the correct bands I would not use it for transmit at all, it might hurt the radio since SWR would be high

[@huntercarver1851]

That Retekess has shortwave on it.. you said it was AM FM only

[@Iridium242]

Right, it has shortwave but its AM only not SSB

[@gregorypeterschmidt620]

Hunter, AM / FM / SSB refer to modulation differences. Shortwave refers to the frequencies.

[@johnlomasney]

Informative

[@williamwurthmann1573]

Will radios work after an EMP?

[@Iridium242]

If they are protected with some kind of Faraday cage, check out my video on making one out of an ammo can.

[@jeffthompson8663]

Good vid.

[@mowoodpecker]

are these antenna directional

[@e.palpatine2464]

👍

[@mjohnson77682]

I find adding a 20-foot (ish) random wire or dipole just overloads my portables because they dont have a robust front end. I am on a Tecsun PL380. How do you compensate for this?

[@Iridium242]

Honestly I have not had that problem, the radio I used in this, is still using this antenna I made in this video. Perhaps you can turn down the RF gain

[@kriskkallinn7816]

Hi! Can I use plain copper wire for an antenna?

[@Iridium242]

yup, will work perfectly

[@joelbradberry8273]

Where are you located?

[@bionicdoug]

Will this help with CB and GMRS radios?

[@usernamemykel]

No. First of all, one doesn't transmit on shortwave receivers, so the antenna length is not critical. Assuming one wishes to transmit on the CB or GMRS (with a GMRS license), one needs to know that those radios transmit and receive on certain radio "bands", which are like "streets", and within those bands are specific frequencies, which are like house numbers along specific streets. So, antennas of specific lengths are required.

[@chtyan]

How does it work for AM ?

[@Iridium242]

Very good, I get in many stations far away at night. We have no local AM stations here so its hard to tell in the day time